Cocktails 101: The French 75

This champagne-based drink is about to become your favorite cocktail ever.

Like many classic cocktails, the French 75 dates to the early 20th century, which was clearly the golden era of inventing delicious booze combinations. It was first mixed at Paris's New York Bar, which counted everyone from Ernest Hemingway to Coco Chanel as a regular.

The 75 refers to the 75mm barrel on a famous French field gun of the era, so this drink has some firepower. It has just four ingredients: champagne, gin, sugar, and lemon. But they combine to make a drink that's such a wonderful balance of sweet, tart, effervescent, and herbaceous that it's easy to drink more than you meant to. Watch yourself.

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Champagne can be expensive, but the good news is, what kind you buy doesn't matter for this cocktail. Get whatever you like or whatever's cheapest. The sugar, gin, and lemon are going to erase any distinctions between the $15 and $75 bottles. And though purists or French people may disagree, any dry sparkling white will do — Brut Champagne, Prosecco, or whatever you like.

two 3-inch strips of lemon zest
2 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice (1–2 lemons)
2 ounces gin
3 tablespoons simple syrup
Prosecco or Champagne
To make the simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat and set aside to cool. Store any remaining syrup in a sealed jar in the fridge. It should keep well for at least a month.

To make the cocktails, combine the lemon juice, gin, and simple syrup in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake for 1 minute. Strain into champagne glasses and top off with Champagne or Prosecco. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Try adding an unexpected twist to your French 75s by infusing the syrup with juniper or herbs. Get the recipe for juniper-infused French 75s on Brooklyn Supper.

Elizabeth Stark is a food writer with a passion for seasonal food, great desserts, and inadvisable wine pairings. Read more on her blog, Brooklyn Supper.